The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) is reworking the policy on mandatory submission of inward foreign manifest (IFM) for airfreight shipments and may issue new regulations by the first quarter of 2012.
BOC said it is giving in to the clamor of the Philippine Chamber of Air Express Operators (PCAEO) whose members claim the submission of electronic cargo manifests as required under the BOC’s electronic-to-mobile (e2m) system will not work for time-bound and time-sensitive shipments.
About three months ago, BOC imposed the mandatory submission of IFM on airlines although the system could not be fully implemented from the get-go. Some airlines, particularly PCAEO members, had a hard time complying with requirements.
PCAEO counts as members DHL, FedEx, TNT Express Worldwide, and United Parcel Service.
Under the e2m, the deadline for submission of the e-IFM is two hours before aircraft arrival for all flights originating in Asia. For flights with less than two hours flying time, the minimum time for the submission is one hour prior to arrival.
For flights originating in North or South America, and in locations other than Asia, North and South America, the deadline is four hours prior to aircraft arrival in any Philippine airport.
For consolidated cargo manifests, flights originating within Asia have a deadline of an hour before aircraft arrival and flights originating in North or South America, two hours prior. For origins outside the identified locations, the submission should be two hours before aircraft arrival.
In sync with express operators
“We are now trying to work out a system similar to the e2m but will exactly fit operations of express operators,” Customs commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon said at the sidelines of last week’s Philippine Ship Agents Association induction of officers where he was the inducting officer and guest of honor.
“We must admit that the e2m system is really inclined toward sea freight or shipping operations that is why air cargo operators and other service providers are having a hard time complying,” Biazon explained.
BOC is now awaiting inputs for a new system from PCAEO members. Such inputs are expected to include the conducive timeframe for airlines, express operators and air forwarders to submit to the BOC the advance copy of the IFM as well as allowing pre-clearance of cargoes before actual submission of all documents, as was the previous practice.
